Cities, counties, states powerless to halt ICE arrests
County powerless to halt ICE arrests
Local officials say federal agents have authority to conduct raids
By Al Sullivan, Senior Staff Writer -
December 20, 2018
https://hudsonreporter.com/wp-conten...2/icesmall.jpgProtestors in Hudson County oppose federal immigration policies
Undocumented residents of Jersey City, Bayonne, West New York, and Union City were among 105 people in New Jersey detained by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over a five-day period in early December.
This follows a series of raids that have netted hundreds of people in New York and elsewhere in the country over the summer as part of an increased enforcement effort, with more raids expected in the near future, according to federal officials.
Local officials say they are powerless to stop these detentions, despite the fact that several communities in Hudson County have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities.
“We don’t have the authority to stop federal agents from raiding private homes,” said Freeholder Anthony Romano, a former Hoboken police captain and a current member of the Freeholder Public Safety Committee.
Local officials said the best they can do is make sure those detained at the Hudson County Correctional Facility get access to legal services and families, as well as basic health services they might need.
Jersey City is particularly vulnerable because a number of construction sites employ undocumented workers. ICE officers are known to have raided work sites and trolled the courts where some undocumented residents may have been involved with minor offenses.
Police sources said raids on work sites occurred, but many of these construction companies get wind of the raid and send workers home to avoid being arrested.
Several police sources said undocumented workers often use the legal birth certificates of someone who has died or has moved out of the state or even the country.
“ICE tracks some of these in their raids,” one Jersey City police official said.
Although Jersey City, Union City, and some other towns have evoked sanctuary city status, meaning they will not allow city workers or local police to report the immigration status of those they interact with, police said they are legally unable to stop ICE from arresting anyone.
Most of those detained have criminal history
ICE officials, however, said the vast majority of those detained in the latest raids are involved with serious offences.
ICE said the New Jersey raids nabbed four individuals in the country illegally who have Interpol warrants based on crimes they committed in their home countries.
Of those arrested during the operation, 80 percent had prior criminal convictions and/or pending criminal charges.
Among those nabbed in Hudson County included a 34-year-old Ecuadorian national, a West New York resident, who has an Interpol warrant for the crime of fraud; a 35-year-old Ecuadorian national from Union City who has a conviction of forcible touching on a child; a 52-year-old Mexican national from Union City, who has a conviction of promoting prostitution with a child; a 35-year-old Venezuelan national from Jersey City who has a conviction of distribution of narcotics; and a 43-year-old Canadian national from Bayonne who has a conviction of distribution of narcotics on school grounds.
“These outstanding results, which were made possible by our officers and law enforcement partners, highlight the tremendous commitment that ICE ERO has to public safety throughout the state,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director of ERO Newark. “Our focus has been and will continue to be on arrests of illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes or those who pose a threat to public safety.”
These individuals will go through removal proceedings before an immigration judge or for those under a final order of removal, arrangements will be made to remove them from the U.S.
Hudson County is doing what it can to help protect people
While ICE officials highlighted the high profile criminal arrests, local officials are concerned that a number of others may have been arrested for minor offences, or no criminal charges at all.
The raids came in New Jersey following a directive issued by the state attorney general’s office to limit state law enforcement cooperation with ICE.
County Executive Tom DeGise said Hudson County is doing everything possible to minimize the impact on detainees held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Hudson County, however, generally receives detainees who have been arrested in New York, while those arrested in Hudson County are housed in Essex County.
While Hudson County has come under criticism by some activists for continuing to hold ICE detainees at the county jail, DeGise said talks with detainees – in their native languages – have concluded most prefer to remain at local facilities where they can retain contact with lawyers and families.
If Hudson County ceased housing these detainees, many would likely be sent to much more remote facilities such as in Alabama.
https://hudsonreporter.com/2018/12/2...t-ice-arrests/
